NYT: "Reinventing the ‘Theater Kid’ Label With Help From Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga"

[Nite 4,927]

Nothing new, but it's a cute article and Harlequin mini era shoutout: 

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/06/movies/theater-kid-reinvention-ariana-grande-lady-gaga.html

I think it may be paywalled, so here are the Gaga parts:

 

“Theater kid” was code for an “annoying try-hard who was deeply uncool.” The public wanted stars to feel effortless; theater kids were full of effort and wanted you to know it. They were the equivalent of the class know-it-all. Hathaway wasn’t alone; the rest of pop culture was also turning on theater kids. “Glee,” the ultimate theater-kid television show, was in the middle of its run. The initial novelty of a series about a high school chorus performing elaborate production numbers every week had worn off, and labored, cringe-inducing plotlines had set in.

The stars of an earlier theater-kid staple, the “High School Musical” series, had shaken off their association with that brand and were taking on edgier roles. Vanessa Hudgens was committing crimes in a bikini in “Spring Breakers.” Zac Efron was being peed on by Nicole Kidman in “The Paperboy.” To be taken seriously, you needed an air of danger, which the theater kid lacked.

Lady Gaga, who emerged in this period, was aware of this, and in her early days mashed up her training from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with club beats, sexy lyrics and outré, barely there costumes.

You can be theatrical without being a theater kid, which explains how so many stars were able to hide their true nature. What’s the distinction? To be theatrical is to have a flair for the dramatic. To be a theater kid is to make it extremely clear you once played Miss Adelaide in a high school production of “Guys and Dolls,” as Gaga did. Being theatrical can mean being aloof and mysterious. (Think: Björk. Think: Meat dress.) Giving off theater-kid vibes means you have an in-your-face, people-pleaser quality. You want to show off.

Lady Gaga has always had a theatrical bent, though her inner theater kid peeked out a little when she duetted with Tony Bennett, say, or talked about her Method approach for “House of Gucci.” But during the promotional cycle for “Joker: Folie à Deux” this year, she went full jazz hands.

About a week before the release of the musical sequel to “Joker,” Gaga announced that she would be releasing a companion album, “Harlequin.” This wasn’t another spin on the rock genre, like her soundtrack for “A Star Is Born” (2018). Instead, it is a brassy collection filled mostly with standards like “If My Friends Could See Me Now” from “Sweet Charity” and “Good Morning,” most famously featured in “Singin’ in the Rain.”

 

Frustratingly, the movie itself offered Gaga only fleeting moments to be truly showstopping — one of the numerous flaws that contributed to its low box office haul. But Gaga made up for that offscreen with on-theme outfits for red carpet appearances and an album that played like a tribute to Judy Garland. Sure, she may have quickly moved on to a moody aesthetic to promote her new dance single, “Disease,” but her brief “Harlequin” era was a reminder of her roots.

Even now on social media you can see some resistance to the theater-kid takeover. And it’s true: She will always receive some scorn simply because there will always be those who are allergic to the notion of an actor breaking into song. But these days it feels overwhelmingly as if the earnestness of the theater kid is winning.

[Guillaume Hamon 6,011]

2 hours ago, Nite said:

Frustratingly, the movie itself offered Gaga only fleeting moments to be truly showstopping — one of the numerous flaws that contributed to its low box office

Thank you !!

[Killa 15,665]

Oh cute read